Eurotopics.net

Although the pendulum is swinging ever more clearly in Biden's direction, Donald Trump has performed far better than predicted in the US election, as indeed he did in 2016. Furthermore, as the incumbent president he can spread falsehoods and deliberately misleading statements that go largely unhindered in the media. Why can't journalists and pollsters get the Trump phenomenon under control?

Since the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015, Islamist terrorism has claimed more than 270 lives in France alone. No religion can justify murder, commentators stress. But is freedom of expression such a sacred principle that it justifies any form of blasphemy?

The EU Parliament and Council have reached a deal on the rule of law mechanism. With this instrument in place, for the first time members could have their EU funding cut if they violate principles such as the independence of the judiciary - but only if the violations have a negative impact on the EU budget. Fifteen heads of government representing at least 65 percent of the EU population must give the green light for the mechanism to apply. Who is satisfied with this solution?

Denmark is to cull around 17 million mink in the country's fur farms and has placed the region of Nordjütland in lockdown. The animals have been infected with coronavirus for months, and now a mutation has been transmitted to humans.

Joe Biden is the favourite in the final phase of the vote counting in the US. So far he has received almost three million more votes than Trump - but he still doesn't have enough electoral votes to declare victory. Donald Trump, who prematurely declared himself the winner on election night, has now filed lawsuits in several states claiming fraud in the vote-counting process. For observers, this a blow to the very foundations of US democracy.